Could this egg-shaped structure be the future home of Indian astronauts in space?

Hab-1 – short for Habitat-1 – is its first “analog mission”. Indian Space Agency Isro which means simulating space conditions to prepare astronauts for real space missions. It was recently tested for three weeks in the high Himalayan mountains of Ladakh.

OR space architect Aastha Kacha-Jhalafrom Gujarat-based company Aaka, told the BBC that these simulations help identify and troubleshoot problems that astronauts and equipment might face before space missions.

Built with space-grade Teflon and insulated with industrial-grade foam, the Hab-1 features a bed, a hidden tray that can be pulled out and used as a workstation, storage space for storing supplies and emergency kits, a kitchenette for heating meals and a toilet. A simulated astronaut spent three weeks holed up in the facility.

“Hab-1 is designed keeping in mind that space will be very limited on the Moon or Mars”, says Ms Kacha-Jhala. “The astronaut will also have very limited water, so we designed a dry toilet. We also created a system for proper waste disposal and ensured that the habitat remains odor free.”

It is now in talks with Isro to build India’s first permanent space simulation facility in Ladakh.

The mission comes at a time when India is preparing to send its first astronauts into space.

OR Isro’s Gaganyaan mission plans to place three astronauts in low Earth orbit at an altitude of 400 kilometers (248 miles) for three days. If all goes according to plan, the mission will begin sometime next year. India also plans to install its first space station by 2035 and send a man to the moon by 2040.

Nasa, the European Space Agency, Russia, China and other countries and private companies with space programs are running dozens of simulation missions and two of the four Indian astronauts selected for the Gaganyaan mission are currently being trained at Nasa.

“Once we have our own simulation mission, we won’t need to depend on foreign space agencies to train our astronauts,” says Professor Subrat Sharma, Dean of Research Studies at Ladakh University who collaborated on the project.